Indian journalist murdered in Chhattisgarh state

New
York, December 10, 2013--Indian authorities must conduct a swift and efficient
investigation into the murder of a veteran journalist on Friday, and ensure the
perpetrators are held responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said
today.

Assailants
beat and stabbedSai Reddy, 51, a reporter for the Hindi-language
newspaper Deshbandhu, as he left a
market in Basaguda village in the central state of Chhattisgarh, news reports said. He
sustained severe head and neck injuries, and died as he was being transported
to a local hospital, reports said.

Police
said they believed Reddy was attacked by a group of Maoist insurgents with
sharp weapons, news accounts reported. It is unclear what police evidence points to the Maoists as
perpetrators.

Reddy
covered local issues such as health, education, water supply, food distribution,
and corruption, and often criticized the government, Maoist insurgents, security forces, and local
police, The Hindu
said citing journalists who knew him.

Maoists have led an insurgency in
the central tribal areas of India for more than four decades. Journalists are frequently targeted by
both Maoists and government forces in the states affected by the conflict, CPJ research shows.

The journalist had been threatened by Maoists in the
past and his house was set on fire, which forced him to flee to a neighboring
state, according to The Times of India. He was allowed to return home after issuing an apology to the Maoists,
the report said.

News accounts reported that Reddy had also been harassed by the
police. In March 2008, he was arrested and accused of being linked with the
Maoists. He denied the allegations and was later released on bail.

"Journalists in
Chhattisgarh have become targets in the conflict between the Indian state and
the Maoists for simply reporting the realities on the ground," said CPJ Asia
Program Coordinator Bob Dietz. "Instead of acting as passive bystanders, the
government must act decisively to reverse the violence against journalists."

Earlier
this year, journalist Nemi Chand Jain was also slain
in Chhattisgarh. Forty-five days after his murder, Maoists took responsibility
for the attack and apologized, but the perpetrators remain at large, according
to The Hoot, a South Asian
media watchdog, and news reports.